The Tale of a Lion
by quixoticEntity
Summary: A mutant has been captured by the prince. Can she get out alive or will a revolution be what it takes to save her? (Bloodswap AU)
1. Chapter 1

You are untouchable. You are almost outside the law. Almost. You should explain. Your moirail accidentally broke your spine but made you a new one with a tail attached. The tail of a meow beast your favorite animal. Your moirail is a sea-dweller. The second highest of the hemospectrum, in fact and an expert at robotics. He added his blood color to your tail as a sign of your relationship. No one would dare harm you with him in any of your quadrants.

Except one person. The only one higher than him.

You have been captured by the prince. You were brought before in chains. You have done nothing wrong. You look up at him. His pants were every color of the hemospectrum, a sign of power. He has a cape colored a bright red. A color that could never come from a regular troll. A color that was only seen as the blood of a single troll.

One troll before you.

You see his horns which are like strikes of lightning on his head. He has a single streak of purple in his hair. No, not purple. Fuchsia. You see his smirk. Your eyes narrow into a glare.

"What do you want furrom me?" You snarl, the pun coming out although you don't want it to.

"Wwhy, I just wwant to see if the rumor is true," his accent is like waves, appropriate for a sea-dweller. He gives a small nod to one of the guards holding you. The guard grabs you and you jerk away but the guard is stronger than you. He cuts you far deeper than he needs to and you fight a cry of pain. The blood that comes out is the same color as the prince's cape.

Candy red.

The prince smiles, "So it is true. Noww I havve one question. Who are you?"

Your name is Nepeta Leijon and you are a mutant.


	2. Chapter 2

Your name is Eridan Ampora. You are the prince of an empire and you have just captured a mutant. The second mutant ever seen by trollkind. You hope she is as ferocious - or rather furocious as her ancestor and that failed revolution she had rallied behind her. You should explain. Hundreds of sweeps ago there was another mutant. A sly one, who could hide and hunt. She saw what the empire did to those who wouldn't submit to the emperor and decided to put an end to it. She got a team of all in the hemospectrum and tried to attack the emperor. Her "revolution" was put down before it began. All those who supported her were killed, including her purple-blooded matesprit. She, however, was not killed. The emperor loved her audacity and forced her to be his matesprit. She has never been seen since, nor a mutant like her.

Until now.

You tell the guards to take her to the dungeon. You will do what your ancestor did not. You will mold her into the weapon that you know she can be.

"Equius!" you call. Who better to train her than her own moirail?

"Yes, your highness," he bows before you. You know he will do whatever you say. That's what he proved by turning the mutant in.

"I need you to train her."

"Train who, your highness?"

"The mutant."

"The mutant has a name, your highness."

You look at him with narrow eyes. He is talking back, to a royal nonetheless. "Are you smart assing me?" you growl at him.

"N-no, your highness," he stutters. That's all you need to know.

"You wwill train her. And you wwill not talk back to me again."

He raises his head to look at you and you see something in his eyes. Pity. He feels sorry for you, you can tell. You turn around and walk out.

You will not take his pity.


	3. Chapter 3

Your name is Nepeta Leijon and you are in a prison cell. Youare painting on the wall with the paint they gave you. And by paint you mean blood. You don't care that much about their lives which makes you feel guilty. You wanted to pick up where your ancestor left off but you don't care as much as she did. You know that you are supposed to lead the new group of rebels, by your ancestors orders, but you can't. You gave up your position to live the life of an average troll. The new leader is trustworthy, you hope. She is a lowblood bent on justice after all. You hear footsteps.

"What do you want purince?" you stopped caring about what they thought of your meow beast puns.

"Nepeta."

You whip around, "Equius. Equius!" you're so excited to see him.

"Nepeta, I'm sorry," your sea-dwelling moirail is apologizing but you don't know why.

"You... Did you turn me in?" he won't look at you, and you know.

"Why?" you don't understand.

He pulls you close, "Nepeta, the revolution needs you here. You have to get the prince to fall in love with you, then take him down," his voice is no louder than a whisper.

You frown, "You know I don't want anything to do with the revolution. I thought Terezi had it under control," you don't speak any louder than he does.

"She does, but this is the only chance we have to get to the prince."

You continue refusing.

"Nepeta, please. The prince wants to use you as a weapon. He wants to find out what you can do and use it."

You can tell he doesn't know that, but this is the only thing he's actually asked you to do. Besides that time getting Aradia to be his matesprit. You decide to try to change the subject. You push him away. "How are you and Aradia doing?"

He won't let this go, but he goes along with you, "Aradia and I... she found someone else."

You make a mental note to update your shipping wall.

"Lord Zahhak, your time with the prisoner is up," one of the guards says.

He nods and stands, "Your training begins tomorrow. By the primce's command."

You sigh. You have to fight one way or another, it seems. All you want is a peaceful life.


	4. Chapter 4

You are now Eridan Ampora. You have just sent your mutant's moirail to train her and you are checking on your other project. You enter the chamber she is kept in, she is tied up very well if you do say so yourself.

"Are you ready?" you ask her, though her answer won't matter.

"The question is, are you ready? The mutant you captured will kill you if I don't get to you first!" she thrashes against her chains, her four pupiled eye shining with her psionic power. This project is known as Vriska Serket, a powerful psionic who believes she can see the future. You have wondered if her predictions are right, mostly because she knows things no one has told her. For example, what she just said. She has no way of knowing about your mutant, yet she just mentioned the candyblooded scum.

"Wwe embark at sunrise. I'm paying the emporer a vvisit."

She growls at you, "The candy blood will win. You can't stop the revolution!"

"I can and I wwill," you say, slapping her, "you wwill wwatch the rebels die."

She laughs at your threat, "I hate you and evverything you stand for," she snarls, mocking your accent.

"I hate you, too," you kiss her. After all, she is your kismesis. Maybe you could get that mutant in one of your quadrants instead of having a whore house like your ancestor. The emporer can't keep his bulge to himself. You leave Vriska and visit the mutant in her cell.

You see her painting on the walls of her cell. You see she has painted pictures on the walls of her cell. One of them has pictures of trolls in quadrants. You recognize Equius, Karkat, and the mutant, but you don't know the rest. On another wall there is a picture of something crossed out with mutant red blood. You see bits of blood on the floor that are the same color.

"Mutant," you growl at her. You realize you should be gaining her trust so she doesn't betray you. You wouldn't want her to kill you, partially because you don't want Vriska to be right. "Wwhat is your name?"

"You don't care," she growls, "you just want the empire. You'll use any means to get it."

You see a picture of yourself, dead, on the wall she just painted. You see a troll you don't recognize stabbing you. You decide you should tell her your name.

"I realize I havven't told you my name, yet I expect you to givve me yours. I am Eridan Ampora."

She turns to you, and you see bags under her eyes. You notice there is no recoopuracoon in her cell. She will be here longer than the prisoners, so you decide to have one installed in her cell. She turns back to her picture.

"Nepeta," you almost don't hear her.

"Wwhat?"

"That's my name, Ampurra," she used a pun. She used a pun in your name. You... kind of like it.

"Your highness, the emporer wants you," one of the guards says.

You scowl, "Stupid emporer, messing evverything up," you mutter under your breath. You think you hear your mutant - Nepeta - chuckle, but you don't know. You leave to see the emporer.


	5. Chapter 5

You are Nepeta Leijon. You are painting on the walls of your cell. You have made a shipping wall to replace the one in your old hive. It's a hobby of yours. Maybe you'll add the prince. What was his name? Eridan. You don't understand why he told you his name, but you told him yours so you might as well adress him by his name.

"Nepeta, it is time for your training," you hear Equius say behind you. You get up and wait for him to unlock the door. Once he does, you follow him and notice a guard is following you. Probably to make sure you don't try to escape.

"What do you know about fighting?" Equius asks, trying to relieve the obvious tension.

"The basics," normally you'd talk to him more openly, but you don't trust the guard.

"Do you have a weapon of preference?" you frown, he already knows what you like to fight with.

"Claws," you answer, wondering why he asked.

He nods, "That is what I prepared to train you with."

Did he just want confirmation? You're about to ask, but you see you've arrived to some sort of dojo-like training center. You see a set of claws on the floor and you go to pick them up, but Equius stops you.

"You must get through me to get to your weapon," you frown, Equius is the strongest troll you know, probably the strongest on the planet! You, however, are faster. He places himself between you and the claws, in a fighting stance. You charge towards him, but he's ready, easily punching you in the face. You fall on the ground. It hurts like a bitch, and you know he's holding back. He frowns, "Mindlessly charging does not help you."

You scowl, "Neither does fighting someone as strong as mew."

He smiles, amused, "I am here to train you, even if you cannot handle my STRENGTH," he emphasizes strength, reminding you of old times. You smile, "Let me try again," you say.

You get up and he gets back in his place. This time you charge and dodge his oncoming blow, sliding under his arm and punching him in the stomach. You immediately regret that decision. His abs are as hard as rocks, something you didn't expect, despite knowing him for so long. You're pretty sure you broke something in your hand. You feel tears at the edges of your eyes, but you refuse to cry.

He looks at you apologetically, "I'm sorry, but that was a good hit."

You try to smile at the praise, but it ends up being a grimace, "I'll be fine, besides it's not your fault, I'm the one who punched mew."

He turns to the guard, "Go get a medic," his voice is more commanding than you remember. The guard leaves and he turns back to you.

"Nepeta, you never answered my question."

You frown, he's still on that, "I... don't know, Equius."

He frowns, "Nepeta, please, we're running out of time."

You weigh your options. Be used as a weapon by Eridan, or make him fall in love with you and kill him. Or, maybe, you could escape? It's unlikely that will happen. You sigh, "I'll do it. On the condition that I don't get involved with the rebels again."

He hugs you, "I will make sure you don't get involved again."

The guard enters with a cerulean medic, "What seems to be the problem?" she asks.

You hold your hand out, "I think I broke something."

She nods, examining it, "You simply have a bone out of place," she pops it back causing you to yelp in pain. "You should not use it for a few days, but otherwise you are fine," she leaves with the guard.

"Training is done for the day," Equius says, "thank you for cooperating. I will escort you back to your cell."

You aren't sure what he means by cooperating, but you allow him to take you back to your cell. You return to the prison level your cell is and one of the guards stops Equius, "Sir, you are needed by a... Feferi Peixes? She asked to see you personally."

Equius blushes slightly, and you make a mental note to add that to your shipping wall, "I will see her immediately," he leaves you with the guard who escorts you to your cell. You notice a recuperacoon in the corner and that the walls are painted over, except your shipping wall. You smile, maybe this won't be as bad as you thought.

**Q: please note I have no idea how much time it would take to recover from a bone being popped out of place, and that I didn't think it was necessary to look up. If you want me to actually look it up or something please tell me. Also I hope you're enjoying this story!**


	6. Chapter 6

You are Eridan Ampora and you are visiting one of your experiments. His name is Gamzee Makara and he has a... unique idiocy. _He eats sopor slime._ You don't know what caused him to start the habit but you decided to take advantage of it and study the effects sopor slime has on trolls. You know the stuff rots thinkpans but you want to find out more about it. You are going to tell him that he will no longer be recieving sopor slime.

He sees you, "Hey motherfucking prince-bro," he even looks wrong. His eyes are unfocused like anything could happen and he wouldn't notice. His nonchalant smile is annoying.

"I havve come to tell you that you wwill no longer be recievving any more... pie," he calls the sopor concoctions pies. You have to admit they _do _resemble pies.

"Ah, that's motherfucking bitchtits, bro. That shit was all kinds of miracles."

Then your personal medic walks in, "The mutant is injured," she tells you.

"The mutant has a name," wait, did you actually say that. Nepeta is nothing more than another expirement just like Vriska or Gamzee.

She raises a brow, "I was unaware you cared so much. Very well, I will treat her accordingly."

"Thank you Kanaya, I wwill go see her."

Kanaya looks at you strangely, "A thank you _and_ a scolding, that's unusual."

She's being sarcastic, and it annoys you but you don't say anything. You exit to visit Nepeta. You notice she's more energetic than before, but she is still painting on the walls. You notice pictures pf yourself on the quadrant wall, and one of them is of you and her. You are about to ask what quadrant is is when she talks to you.

"Hello, Ampurra. Did mew come to see me?" Her back is turned to you and you wonder how she knows your there.

"Hello, Nepeta. I came to see howw you're doing. I heard you wwere injured."

She nods, still not facing you, "I'm doing fine, my hand still hurts, though."

"Did Equius hurt you?"

"I hurt myself beclaws I hit him wrong," you know Equius is one of the strongest trolls there is, that's part of why you had him train her and you think that isn't totally true.

You decide not to push it, and change the subject, "I see you like to paint."

She turns around and smiles, "I really like it, and it's a good way to paws time."

You smile back at her, she's cute when she smiles. Wait, did you just think that, "There really isn't much to do in your... chambers," you won't call it a cell, even though you both know that it is.

She frowns, "Yeah, it would be nice to go somewhere besides my cell."

You get an idea, "Wwhy don't I givve you a tour of the palace? Not noww, I havve things to do, but later," what better way to gain her trust then to spend time with her? You do intend to keep her close to you, to make your enemies her enemies, and you intend to start with a pesky rebellion.

**Q: well, this is a little later then I intended but hey, stuff happens. Anywho, I'm super glad you're enjoying it AnonymousPotatoe! I hope you keep liking it! I'm glad if anyone else enjoys it too (which I asume someone is considering people keep reading this)**


	7. Chapter 7

You are Nepeta Leijon, and you are in the clinic, again. Your most recent training with Equius ended better than the rest, with you finally getting your claws. However, you did end with a large gash in your arm, after you ended up throwing the claws in the air to dodge a punch from Equius, you jumped to catch them and, contrary to popular belief, cats don't always land on their feet. You landed on the claws, and now you're in the clinic for the third time this week. On the bright side, you got to keep the claws. The medic begins stitching your arm.

"I suppose I should make your acquaintance if you are to keep coming here," the medic says, "I'm Kanaya Maryam, the prince's personal medic."

"I'm Nepeta," you don't want them to know about your last name, you used it to lie low until the prince caught you. Come to think of it, that might have been _how_ the prince caught you.

"Eridan talks about you a lot," Kanaya says, "he seems to enjoy your company."

This makes you blush, everything's going according to plan, "He visits me efurry day."

Kanaya smiles, "I'm surprised. He usually isn't that kind to his experiments."

You frown, "What experiments?"

Kanaya looks up at you, "He hasn't told you? Actually, I probably expected too much for him to tell you. You are not the first troll he's captured, but I hope you're the last."

You want to find out about these experiments, and you remember he still hasn't taken you on that tour he promised, "Do mew think he'd take me to see them?"

She shrugs, returning to stitching your arm, "It's possible, I guess. I wouldn't count on it."

She finishes but you don't notice, even though it hurts, you're thinking about how you could free these experiments, and Kanaya smiles knowing what you're thinking, not that you notice that either. You realize she's finished, and you get up tyanking her for the information and stitching your arm.

"I will escort you to your cell," she says, "unless you want to see his experiments."

You look at her, you want to but you don't think you should, "How do mew know about his experiments?"

"I have a lot of free time, Eridan doesn't need me too often, he is well protected and a great fighter," Kanaya looks at you, leaning down to whisper in your ear, "I will gladly help you free them."

You nod, "I'll take mew up on that offer."

She smiles, "Now or later?"

You think about this, if Eridan finds out... "What would happen to mew?"

"I would be killed," she says, nonchalantly, "it would be a small price to pay to help the rebellion."

You stop, that's what this was about. You know she's a good medic but you doubt she's told you the truth about Eridan's supposed "experiments." You wonder if she is telling the truth, why you agreed to do it in the first place, it's not like their lives affect you. They don't really matter, right? You doubt your own way of thinking. You care. You really do, they're alive and they might be tortured. You want to help them and you don't want them to get hurt. You notice Kanaya stopped, too. You think for a little while longer.

"Now."

**Q: so, petition to call Caliborn's masterpiece Clayiborn? Anyone, anyone? Just me... ok. Anywho, I hope you're enjoying my story.**


	8. Chapter 8

You are Eridan Ampora and you are visiting your moirail.

"Kar, I don't knoww wwhat to do. I'm red for one of my experiments," you complain.

He sighs, "Oh my god Eridan, you are the biggest asswipe on all of Alternia! You claim to be red but you _still _refuse to tell me her name," he growls. He has a temper but he's always there when you need, like right now.

Your cheeks become dusted fuschia, "Her name is Nepeta. Kar, don't make a big deal of it."

His temper flares, "You mean that violet douche's moirail! You like my kismesiss's moirail? You are such a bulgemunching, hornfucking _idiot_!"

You cringe, you hate it when he gets like this. He always ends up blaming you, but you will admit he comes up with some of the most creative insults you've ever heard, "Kaaaaar! Don't you knoww wwhat it's like to be in lovve?" you say it wistfully.

He facepalms, "Yeah, and it doesn't help that you trapped him. You are the worst troll ever."

"I told you I'd free him just for you."

"_Just for me_! What about him? Do you even care about other trolls at all!"

You avoid his glare, even though it bores holes into you, "I care about Nep. I care about you. I evven care about Vvris, as much as I hate her."

At this point, an alarm goes off, but neither of you hear it. Neither of you know what's going on outside, of a troll's attempt at freedom.

"I know... I care about you too," _but I care about him more, _the end of the sentence hangs in the air, both of you know it's there but neither of you will admit it.

"I'm supposed to givve Nep a tour of the palace. Maybe I'll make a stop to free him for you," you aren't sure that he'll like what he sees. After being held for sweeps without seeing anyone it would be hard for him to adjust to the light, if he can adjust at all. You can't remember why you trapped him in the first place. Wait, yeah you do. It was in your younger, crueler days, when you hated Karkat. You captured his only joy to get him to work for you. A ruthless highblood who terrified everyone except his matesprit would make a great addition to your guard. Neither of you thought he'd become your moirail. Yeah, you really should free him.

Karkat stares at you, "Can we do it now?" he asks the question meekly, meaning he's embarrassed. He never liked you holding this over him.

You nod, "Of course, Kar."

The two of you go to the cell where his matesprit is being contained. By this time the alarms stopped, leaving you oblivious to it ever happening. When you get there you see someone you didn't expect to see.

"Nep?"

**Q: so, I just remembered I need to do a disclaimer. I do not own homestuck or its characters seeing as I am not Andrew Hussie, however, if I was Andrew Hussie I'd spend all of Ryan North's money on overpriced food and hookers (and possibly booze).**


	9. Chapter 9

You are Nepeta Leijon and you are following Kanaya Maryam, a medic. After you agreed to help her free the experiments Eridan was keeping she began to lead you down a series of passages. You can't help but notice cells down one hall, cells that are more secure than the ones in your hall. You hear something like banging.

"What is that?" you ask Kanaya.

"That is the place for... special prisoners," she says, briefly glancing towards the hall.

"Why don't we furree them?"

"They are two well guarded," she's lying, you can tell by glancing down the hall. There are no guards anywhere, down there.

"Oh, ok," you don't believe her, so you slip away when she isn't paying attention. You move towards the sound, getting to the cell and seeing if anyone's around. You don't see anyone, but you do see a lever, probably for if anyone were to escape. It doesn't make sense though, why have an alarm and no guards? You also wonder why you didn't hear anyone else. Is this the only cell with someone in it? You can't see inside the cell, but you know someone's there.

"Who are mew?" you ask.

"I, uh, I'm Tavros. Who are you?" his voice is familiar and you know you've heard that name somewhere. Tavros.

"Nepeta," you tell him, "are mew the only one here?"

"I, um, think so. I haven't heard anyone since, uh, since, um, for a while. But it's, uh, nice to meet you, Nepeta. Even though I think we, uh, already met."

He's right, you two have met. If only you could remember where. You hear an alarm go off, the shrill sound bursting your ears. A second later it's gone, as if nothing happened.

"That, uh, means someone tried to open a cell without, um, clearance," Tavros tells you, "it's like, um, like when someone plays a fiduspawn card illegally."

That's where you've met! You smile, "Mew won the fiduspawn championship three sweeps ago! I didn't even get through the qualifying round." You did, however, pester Equius into getting you a way to go to the tournament. You can't FLARP like you want to, so you started playing fiduspawn.

"I, uh, yeah, I did. I won the next sweep too," you can hear the pride behind his accomplishment, "I, uh, had a matesprit, too. A nice purpleblood, maybe you've heard about him. Um, Karkat? Does he, uh, does he go out anymore?"

You know about Karkat, everyone does. He haa a reputation for being one of the most ruthless highbloods there are, last you checked everyone would cower in fear of being killed by him. A sweep ago he joined the prince, er, Eridan, despite constantly refusing before. You just found out why.

"Nep?" you hear Eridan say. You turn around and see him, surprised that he's here. He looks surprised to see you here too, "wwhat are you doing here?"

"I got lost on my way back to my cell," you lie reflexively. After sweeps of hiding you still tend to lie when you feel you're in a pinch.

"This is your latest catch?" you notice the troll with Eridan, even though he should've been hard to miss. You recognize him as Karkat. He's practically yelling, despite the hall being empty of trolls and any other sounds.

"Karkat?" you hear Tavros say through the door.

"Tavros? I never thought I'd see you again," Karkat pushes you to get to the door, "let him out Eridan," he whispers, you don't know why he decided he would be quieter now.

"I, uh, can't see you and, uh, you can't see me because of the, um, door."

Eridan produces a key and unlocks the door allowing Tavros to come out. "Nep, wwe need to get you back to your..." he trails off, you know he doesn't think of you as a prisoner so he doesn't want to call your cell a, well, cell.

"Cell?" you offer, that is what it is after all.

He glances at you, "Maybe wwe could givve you neww quarters," he grabs your hand, intertwining your fingers, and you don't stop him. He's warmer than you expected, Equius was always cold when you hugged him. You leave Karkat and Tavros to their reunion, Eridan leading you too a regal room that was bigger than any place you had ever been in, including the training hall of the palace. Fuschia curtains hung on windows that covered half the room. You could see all kinds of wildlife through them. The floor was all colors of the hemospectrum is a crisscross pattern, the walls were fuschia and violet, and a large recuperacoon was in the corner. Otherwise, the room was mostly devoid of furniture, save a vanity against one walls. You also saw buckets of paint by a wall.

"Wow," you muttered, the room was amazing, but it didn't feel right to be in it.

"Is it good?" Eridan seemed to be eager to impress you, which you take note of. And, for some reason, you don't want to dissappoint him. You simply nod. "Nep, can I ask you something?"

You laugh, "Mew just did."

He smiles, but it quickly fades to a more serious look, "Nep, wwould you help me take down the emporer?"


	10. Chapter 10

You are Eridan Ampora and you watch shock spread over Nepeta's face. You are tired of the way the emporer treats you. Always telling you you can't be the emporer. About how weak you are. You are not _weak,_ you'd make a better emporer than that nooklicking _whore_. He never even _did _anything for the empire just sit on his little ship is space. You _really _want to kill him. Yeah, you should calm down. You do want to get rid of the rebellion, but it makes more sense to get them on your side to defeat the emporer. You could flush them out of hiding and take them all out at once, besides, the enemy of your enemy is your friend, right?

"So, wwhat do you say, Nep?" you realize she still hasn't said anything, or you've been to engrossed in your thoughts to notice.

"I... don't know. I'm not ready to actually kill someone," she says.

"You don't havve to do the killing, I just need you to get the rebels on our side," you realize you said "our". You've never done that. It's "you" and them not "us" and them. Nepeta seems as shocked as you are. You aren't known for caring about others, quite the opposite in fact.

"... I'll help mew. But I have a condition," she won't look at you. You think she's scared, but you don't understand why. You've proven you love her... right?

"Sure, Nep, anything," you're filled with a devotion you didn't know you had.

"Mew have to go see how lowbloods live," she looks at you in the eye. You can tell she's serious, but you find the idea ridiculous.

"Wwhy?"

"To be a good emporer. You have to know how your citizens live, Eridan. _That's_ what my ancestor wanted," she doesn't use the pun she usually does when she says your name. You realize this is the first time she's called you by your first name. You think about her request, about what you know about the rebellion, the failed revolution all those sweeps ago.

"I... I'll do it."

**Q: I should probably edit the summary. I don't know. Hope you enjoy**


	11. Chapter 11

You are Nepeta Leijon and you are helping Eridan live the life of an average troll. He's changed into a lower caste outfit, wearing black pants and a shirt with a burgundy symbol. Not his symbol of course because everyone knows what the emporer and prince's symbol is.

"Howw long am I doing this, Nep?" Eridan asks.

"All long as I see fit," you tell him, smiling, "mew should've decided a time limit befur mew agreed."

He scowls, "Dirty trick, Nep."

"Not dirty. I'm just good at pursuasion," you giggle. Eridan looks flustered, which you find cute.

He sighs, "Wwhatevver. I'm hoping it isn't long."

That makes you want to make it longer. You're hoping it will only be week, mostly because Eridan complained about it so much, but it depends on how quickly he learns, "It's not gonna kill mew."

The two of you leave the palace, you're still in the clothes you had before you were captured. They're pretty ragged now, with a lot of holes from training sloppily stitched.

"Wwhere are wwe going?" Eridan asks.

"To see a furiend," you reply.

"It's so far awway," he whines.

"We've only been walking fur ten minutes," you roll your eyes. He's a handful and it makes you wonder what you see in him. Wait, you don't _actually_ like him. It's just to get you out of the rebellion for good. This whole thing was just to lure him out of the palace so you could kill him. You don't know if you'll be able to, really. Not that you'd admit that.

"We're here," you say.

"That took forevver," Eridan whines, again.

"That took less than an hour," you facepalm, what a useless prince.

"Hey! I'm not useless!" he snaps. You didn't realize you said that out loud.

"Purove it," you smirk at him, "I could make a better ruler than mew would!"

"Is that a challenge?" he narrows his eyes, "just so you know, I don't lose."

"I guess mew will have your furst taste," you're having fun making fun of him. Eridan looks like he's about to explode. It's really funny, and kind of cute too. Now, you don't like him, it's just an observation. Now you know you're lying to yourself. You still don't know what you see in him though.

"Yeah, well-" he's cut off by the door opening.

"Hey, Nepeta, long time no see!" she laughs, "or smell in my case!"

You smile, "Nice to see mew again, Purezi!"

Eridan is confused now, "Nep, who is that?"

"Terezi, who are you?" Terezi asks him, her cheshire smile still plastered on her face.

"I'm Eridan," he says, and you inwardly facepalm. So much for stealth.

Terezi is undettered by his idiocy, "Come in. My hive is a mess but whatever."

You walk in and notice that it's become more colorful, which is pretty amazing considering how colorful it was last time you were here. Granted, that was more than a few sweeps ago, but you're still impressed. You hear Eridan mutter a wow.

Terezi cackles, "Do you like it?"

"It's, uh, colorful," Eridan says, at a loss for words.

You giggle, "Wow, Purezi, mew really got him fur a loss at words," you've never seen Eridan like that. He always seems to know what to say.

He blushes, further destroying the facade of his blood color. You're really happy Terezi is blind. You realize Eridan doesn't know that. You also realize Terezi can smell color and then facepalm inwardly again.

"Wwhere's the load gaper?" he asks, unaware of any of your realizations. At least he's making an effort to keep the facade.

"Go left, then another left, then a right, then it's the last door on the left."

Eridan leaves eagerly. He must be embarrassed, which causes you to laugh.

"Nepeta," Terezi's smile falls to a more serious look, "why are you with the prince, and why isn't he _dead_?"

"I haven't been able to get him alone, and even if I did, I don't know if I could kill him," you say, only half of it is a lie and you hope Terezi doesn't know that.

She frowns, "The revolution is riding on him dying. You _have _to do it, even if you're squeamish about it."

You realize seeing your old friend/rebel leader was a bad idea. You're surprised at how stupid the idea was in hindsight and how stupid you've been today. "I... I don't know. He's not so bad."

Terezi stands up suddenly, "He killed Vriska and left Tavros to die! And now he's got you under his finger! He's the worst and he's going down one way or another!"

"Who's the wworst?" Eridan enters the room, and both of you are unsure of what to tell him.

"The emporer," you say. You aren't technically lying to him and you know he thinks the same.

He scowls, "I'll be glad wwhen that fucker dies."

A flash of surprise enters Terezi's face and leaves as soon as it comes. She thinks for a minute, "Get out."

"Wwhat, wwhy?" Eridan looks at you than at Terezi and back to you. You can see him wondering what happened.

"But Terezi!" You aren't done. You have to get Eridan to learn how the lowblood lives. That's why you came to her.

"Out! You've done enough, Nepeta!" She yells.

You don't look at her as you leave, "C'mon Eridan."

"But-" you cut him off, "We're leaving," he follows you without another word. You think you scared him.

"Nep, what was-" he tries to question again but you cut him off, holding him as your candy red tears stain his shirt.


	12. Chapter 12

You are Eridan Ampora and you have no idea why Nepeta is crying. You do what anyone would do to their potential matesprit: you comfort her. And by comfort you mean hold because you have no idea how this shit works. "Nep, do you wwant me to get Eq?" you figure her moirail will be a lot better at this than you. You feel her shake her head through your shirt. Guess not. "Should I do something?" you know asking her isn't a great idea but, again, you have no idea how this shit works. She just holds on to you tighter. You are getting very flustered. "Wwhat's wrong?" you ask because it's the only thing you can think that doesn't involve leaving Nepeta or panicking. She raises her head from it's spot on your chest and wipes her face.

"Old scars," she mutters, tears still brimming from the edges of her eyes, "I just- it's been a while since I saw her and... I hoped she wasn't mad anymore."

Now you're really confused, "She looked happy to see you."

"..." Nepeta won't look at you, and you realize she lied about what she said. It annoys but you understand, you do the same thing sometimes, usually to the emporer.

"Nep, tell me the truth, you don't have to lie," you move some of her hair out of her face, it's messier than usual from her crying and as much as you want to make it neater, it really fits her so you don't.

"I- she- she was. I... wasn't. Purezi is great, but she," Nepeta takes a deep breath, "she's part of the rebellion, and she's wanted me to join fur sweeps. I don't want to be part of it... I just want to be a normal troll, one who doesn't have to worry about her blood color showing," she laughs dryly, "funny thing is, Purezi was the first to find out. I was already moirails with Equius, but our relationship was still... haphazard."

"He didn't knoww yet," you interject, deciding to address the rebellion part later. Nepeta needs this, she needs you and you aren't going ignore that.

She nods, "Yeah, and I had just met him in real life. We met through trollian, a furiend of a furiend and all. I just left his hive when I ran into Purezi, literally. That's how we met. I fell down, and befur I knew it she was on me, accusing me of being a spy fur the emporer. I was hemoanonymous so I guess that did make it suspicious. She had a knife to my throat, and I tried to fight off despite knowing I could get caught. I figured I'd just kill her after. The knife cut me and she saw my blood. Immediately, she got off of me, and began apologizing. She said she would fight with the rebellion fur justice against lowbloods..." Nepeta trails off turning from you and frowning.

"You wweren't part of the rebellion, wwere you?"

She nods, turning back to you, "I told her I wasn't and she looked surpurised. She said she could get to someone who would let me join... Let me lead. She had thrown the knife on the ground and I picked it up, deciding I would kill her befur she could go. I had the knife and I-I couldn't kill her. I panicked, knowing that she would tell someone about me and I stabbed her eyes. I hoped that I could get away. I hoped that no one would believe her. It was stupid. I knew it was stupid. I knew that someone would wonder how it happened, but I couldn't tell anyone and I came to find out she never told anyone either. She found me... through trollian."

"A friend of a friend," you mutter.

"I didn't know it was her and we roleplayed together. It was fun, and I had forgotten about the incident at that point. It took her sweeps to find me, I don't even know how she found out I was the same troll who gouged her eyes," Nepeta begins crying again, "I didn't know she would hate me for not being part of the rebellion. I don't know what to do, Eridan. I don't know what they want to do, or why they want me. I don't know if I should just give up and join, or if I should help you take out the emporer."

You pull her back to you, "I don't knoww wwhat you should do, but I'll help you do it. No matter wwhat it is."

She pulls back and kisses you.

**Q: filler-y sort of? It's mostly backstory with a little romance at the end so *shrugs* I just hope you're enjoying it**


	13. Chapter 13

You are Nepeta Leijon and you are kissing a prince. Said prince has not done anything to harm you like you originally expected. He has stopped refering to you as an item his owns. He has helped you when you are wounded and has made time for you every day. He has gone with what you said even though both of you know it's ridiculous. You wonder why he would do any of that, except hurt you, that is. You know there is no way for you to actually love him, but somehow you do.

You hate it.

You know what should and what shouldn't be happening. What you shouldn't be doing, feeling. You have to kill him. You _have _to. You pull out a knife. He doesn't notice, too wrapped up in your embrace. _I don't know what you should do but I'll help you do it. _His words echo in your head. The tears that had dried in your eyes start flowing again. You feel your hand shaking. You feel the hilt of the knife in your hand, cool and cruel.

You can't kill him.

You know what you should do.

You drop the knife.

You let go of him.

"Eridan, I need you to help me. Help me-"

You feel yourself being pierced.

You feel pain.

That's the last thing you feel.


	14. Chapter 14

You are Eridan Ampora and you feel the love of your life fall limp in your arms. You see the arrow that pierced her back. You forget what Kanaya told you about what to do when something like this happens. Her eyes are open, her mouth still forming the sentence she wanted to say. You are filled with rage. You pull out the arrow colored by her blood quickly scanning the surrounding area until you see a troll with a bow. He's far away but you still see the smugness on his face. You throw the arrow at him. It hits him square in the chest, just like it hit her. He falls, but your rage stays. You carry Nepeta's body to the palace, placing it in the cell she previously occupied. Some guards come to see you. You say something to them but you don't know what. You order everyone out. You give them an hour, but you don't know if you can wait that long. You get a match and some burning liquid. You take powder kegs from your armory. You place them all over the empty halls of the palace. You change into your regal attire. You remember the emporer is coming. You greet him. You lead him down the halls of the palace to a room. You'll set this room off first, you decide. The emporer tells you to leave his presence. He tells you not to get your hopes up about getting the empire before you leave. You always knew he would never let you get it. You leave. You detonate the room. You hear his screams but you don't care. You make your way down, detonating every room you pass. You enter her cell. You lie next to her limp body. You hope that some day, in some other life you will be with her and you will be happy.

The entire palace explodes.


	15. Epilogue type thing

Words gets around quick. The palace exploded, the prince and emporer with it. That's the last sign of a mutant. A sea dweller cries for a mutant, runs to the palace ruins hoping to find her. He doesn't.

A purple blood cries for his moirail, his teal blooded matesprit comforts him. The teal blood harbors hatred for the prince but puts it aside to help his matesprit.

A blue blood is found with an arrow piercing his chest. His pair of horns makes him unique, a smug smile was on his face when the arrow pierced him. The colors of the blood on the arrow turn it an unnatural purple.

A cerulean medic stitches up anyone caught in the blast. She smiles when she finds out about the prince's demise. She always thought he was an asshole.

An olive blood smiles at her new moirail comforting him about his other one's passing. They never met, but she knows the mutant was good.

A yellow blood looks at the wreckage, her vision four-fold tells her what happened. She sighs at the loss of her kismesis, but goes on with her burgundy blood friend.

A brown blood smiles lazily at the wreckage. He found more pie and that's all that matters to him.

A burgundy blood blames herself. She knew about the archer but she let the mutant go. She wishes she could undo their argument.

A jade blood smiles. She knows all about what happened, it was just like the voices told her. She hates losing such a close friend, but she knows it's for the better. She has been getting rid of sea dweller eggs. She has made sure there will never be a ruler like that ever again. A cerulean medic visits her, tells her about what a great job she did. She'll never know she was under anyone's control.

The cerulean medic leaves the jade blood that set the whole plan into motion. She gracefully walks to a new palace, one she designed. She will have fun ruling the planet.

**Q: yeah this totally went in a different direction than I wanted but that's ok. I also ended it earlier than intended and have decided to label this as a bit of a fail. Maybe I should stick to one-shots and drabbles. Speaking of I'll do one of those prompt-based fics if anyone wants to like send in anything. Bye for now**


End file.
